Old Gods, New Tricks
by Magic-Amethyst80
Summary: What if a higher power were responsible for a number of major events which took place on Charmed? Crossover between Charmed and the HerculesXena’verse, with some other things mixed in.
1. Default Chapter

_Disclaimer: _The characters from Charmed are property of Warner Brothers and Brad Kern. The characters from Xena/Hercules are property of MCA Universal and Renaissance Pictures. _Any other characters and ideas which may be in this story are also copyrighted and borrowed intentionally_

_Author's Note: I thank my beta readers for their insight._

Cole heard a spitting sound, then he felt something bounce off his neck as he sat at the edge of the bar. He quickly picked it off his back and tossed it on the floor. It looked like the pit of an olive. He turned his head and glanced angrily at the other customers.

One of the patrons at the bar looked strangely familiar; he knew him from somewhere, but couldn't quite place it. Most likely he had crossed paths with him in his law firm, Jackman, Carter and Klein. He waved his fingers to telepathically discourage anymore-stray olive pits from landing in his direction, then turned back to the Guinness he had been enjoying.

Tonight was a night to kick back and relax; tomorrow he had a scheduled clandestine meeting with one of the Elders about locating a few ancient spirits, a Japanese one known as Yodoshi and someone else. He didn't know the exact details as to why this upper level, often elusive Elder was after these particular spirits. It might have had something to do with restoring who some had deemed as the "rightful Source." All he really knew was that aiding this Elder would help get him into the good graces of those up there, and give him the respect he deserved in the supernatural world.

Things were not going well in his relationship with Phoebe. He was amazed at Phoebe's resolve throughout this entire ordeal involving the Source, his vanquishing and regaining his powers. How could a woman reject the man she loved, push him out of her life, give up so easily? Was she even capable of loving him, or of truly loving anyone? He hated to admit it, but after nearly three months of an attempted reconciliation, it was time to call it quits and give up.

It was ironic in some ways, that the one demon capable of love would fall for a witch who wasn't. Even more ironic was the fact that it was ultimately the relationship between Cole and Phoebe that led to the vanquishing of the old Source, the leader of the Underworld as long as anyone could remember.

Why did he fall in love with her so easily, so quickly? Even though he was human, he was still half demon; even half demons weren't supposed to love! In his hundred years as a demon, he had played Romeo to a number of witches, many with whom he could easily have fallen in love. If these witches had been in similar circumstances to the one he encountered with Phoebe, they probably would not have had the strength to vanquish him.

The only other demon he could think of who ever fell in love was, Drazzi, the demon of hate. The Charmed Ones had taken care of him a few months before he even met Phoebe. What happened with him wasn't natural; rumor had it that it was the experiment of a renegade, low-level cupid. He had heard that this particular Cupid had been stripped of his power, for making a number of un-authorized pairings. Shortly afterwards he strangely returned at full power thanks to a mysterious magical ring.

He began to wonder about the "cupids." There were many of them, who worked in secret, all over the world, making "love connections," between people. Supposedly they were the offspring of Aphrodite, one of the few, remaining Olympian Deities. Although her oldest child, Eros, the first being referred to as "Cupid," was no longer around, the goddess had produced more than a few love children over the past thousand or so years, most of whom went on to function as "cupids."

While it was known that Aphrodite was still around, the whereabouts of the rest of the Olympians was still a mystery. Rumor had it that Hercules and an Amazon princess had vanquished most of them a few thousand years ago. No one he could think of was clear as to which ones had had survived, and which ones had not.

He looked up at the television currently showing some low budget program about female action heroes. While it was actually interesting in its first seasons it had been on way past it's prime. A few years ago there had been fighting on the set and there were rumors amiss about the show's cancellation. Strangely things were very quickly patched up, and the show had been on ever since. He seriously wondered if the producer had made a deal, with anyone in order for it to stay on television for so long? If a demon or higher being was behind the success of this show, who was it?

With the wave of his fingers he changed the channel, to a local affiliate that was currently broadcasting the day's news about a wave of vandalism currently taking place across the country. This time the victim had been _New York _magazine, a publication, showcasing that city's most expensive restaurants and shows, which the average person could only dream of affording. Fortunately no one had been hurt; the attack had taken place on a Saturday afternoon, when the building was empty. Word was that it was connected to underground boxing clubs that made tracking down the culprits difficult.

There was something very peculiar about this wave of vandalism. It seemed like something that could have been demonically influenced; yet he couldn't think of any demon other than the old Source capable of pulling off such widespread mayhem.

He took another sip of his beer, and noticed that it tasted off, almost as if someone had taken a leak in it. He turned to alert the bartender

"Excuse me, this doesn't taste right, can I have another one?" he carefully waved his fingers, in expectation that the Bartender would oblige. The man didn't look like he had had the best week; his right eye was swollen completely shut, most likely due to a slugging, also his left hand was wrapped in a bandage, covering what looked like a burn wound on the top of his hand "That'll be $6.50," the bartender unsympathetically responded, "You are the only one to complain about today's brew."

Not wanting to make a scene, he carefully waved his fingers again, and wondered why his powers were not working on the bartender. If only the man knew who he was dealing with.

"I'm not paying for this, and I'm not paying for another one," he said angrily, as he rose from the bar. He certainly wasn't going to give this bartender the fight he was picking, at this point any fights would not look good, regardless of who had started it.

He heard the bartender mutter something nonsensical about an eighth rule, and then it happened again. Another olive pit hit him, this time it bounced off his cheek. He looked down the bar again, and noticed that the fellow he recognized before enjoying a bowl of Greek olives along with a companion.

It was the renegade cupid, the one who had caused Drazzi to fall in love. "Going somewhere," he asked Cole, " by the way how are things between you and Phoebe?"


	2. Chapter Two

Author's Note: The being referred to as "Cupid" is not the same character who appeared in the Hercules/Xena series. Instead it is one who appeared on the Charmed episode "Heartbreak City" at the end of the show's second season. A transcript of the episode can be found at

http/www.charmedscripts.tv/heartbreakcity.htm

Chapter II

_It was the renegade cupid, the one who had caused Drazzi to fall in love._

_"Going somewhere," he asked Cole, " by the way how are things between you and Phoebe_

Cole responded, his voice tinged with annoyance, "I have no qualms with you, cupid" he quietly but sternly told him, not wanting anyone in the bar to overhear the exchange and be privy to any secret information about the supernatural. He continued towards the door, promptly shoving the cupid out of his way, however the cupid refused to give up,

"Way to treat the one responsible for making you what you are. I'm the one who set you up with Phoebe."

"What?" Cole responded.

"After you and your human side were appointed to take down the Charmed Ones, we just couldn't pass up the opportunity." He looked Cole in the eye, "if it weren't for me, you would have never fallen in love with her and accomplished all you have.

"You would still be down there," he glanced towards the ground, "Raynor's lowly crony, the old source would have still been in power. However, that isn't so. You are Belthazor, the demon who vanquished the legendary triad, the demon who played an integral part in weakening the old Source, and the only one to ever return from the wasteland. For the past three months, you have been going around touting yourself as the most powerful being walking the universe, never stopping to consider who created the bond between you and Phoebe in the first place, making it all possible." Cole paused in shock as he contemplated what was happening.

The cupid continued, "I met her once, and even let her know that it was possible for a demon to love."

"You set me up!" Cole angrily growled, his fist clenched, ready to strike. Before he could continue the cupid's companion chimed in again, a sinister grin upon his face.

"Ever wondered who vanquished the very choice demons giving you your powers while you were in the wasteland? Do you think it was a coincidence that some of the most powerful demons met their end while you were there?" he asked, a low sarcastic tone about his voice.

The man was a striking individual. Tall dark haired and well muscled, he was dressed for a day on a Harley, in a tight fitting neon green sleeveless top, leather pants, and an oddly shaped silver earring in one of his ears, "In your absence, there was total chaos in the underworld. It was beautiful if you ask me. Things down there hadn't been that exciting since the old Source took over. Great fights, no one batted an eyelid when some of them mysteriously vanished. For the first time in the past thousand or so years, the elders could care less about what was going on." Cole gave the at the cupid's companion a closer look, he sensed something about him, he wasn't a demon, he was something else, something potentially powerful. "Gotta give you credit though," the man paused "you have taken her rejection quite well."

"Too well," interrupted the Cupid, "by now Uncle and I were expecting you would be a madman, desperate for the heart of a woman whose _heart could never be opened_

Cole thought to himself about why was the cupid was saying Phoebe's heart could never be opened? _Also, why was he referring to his companion as Uncle?_


	3. Chapter Three

Cole thought to himself about why was the cupid was saying Phoebe's heart could never be opened? _Also, why was he referring to his companion as Uncle?_

The odd man laughed in enjoyment and continued. "After you were down there long enough to gather enough power for the elders to consider you invincible, I had the ancestor of a sticky fingered old acquaintance, threaten your," he paused, "beloved."

Cole socked the man as hard as he could, causing him to instantly sink to the ground. However, he didn't quiet down as would be expected, he continued to giggle, uncontrollably. Shocked at the man's resolve Cole looked around the bar, the crowd seemed to be getting rowdy, in eager anticipation of the ensuing scuffle. He put his hands up and attempted to freeze them, however as before nothing happened. "You know who I am?" asked Cole before kicking the stranger in the eye.

"The former source of all evil," the man responded mockingly, "for a total of four weeks. Nothing to go around bragging about, you hold the record for shortest reign down there. Even Lucifer, the ex elder lasted longer than you!"

"You're confusing quantity with quality," responded Cole, as much as he abhorred his possession by the Source, he couldn't let whoever this was harm his reputation.

"The Source, did more in those two weeks than the previous Source did in the one hundred years before. The power of three was nearly ended forever. And all without releasing the Hollow, without being permanently disfigured in a power struggle."

The man responded, "the underworld was in such chaos during your reign that nobody cared about you and your ascension. No one cared enough to give you any permanent disfigurement."

"Your predecessor was taken down because of his mistakes. He had no right, meddling in matters that weren't his to meddle in." He paused, and then sourly continued, "copying the elders by appointing demons as horsemen, in his Omega projects. It wasn't his place to end the world by staring wars without consulting proper authorities. I warned him to stop but he never listened! If he wanted to collaborate on anything involving the military, all he had to do was ask, but he didn't."

Cole carefully looked at the man, wondering exactly who this being was who had the gall to meddle in the affairs of the Source. Was he serious?

"The Power of Three," the man laughed, "was never a threat, he just perceived it to be because we had his faithful seers telling him they were.

" If he really wanted them gone, he could have just mounted a surprise attack and taken them out one two three. Actually he managed to get rid of one of them, only to find that there was a long lost fourth." He glanced at the cupid, "fixing Patty up with that whitelighter of hers was a stroke of brilliance, nothing like the prospect of an illegitimate Halliwell to get him crazy enough to use this," he said producing the Hollow out of thin air.

Cole gasped in horror then stepped back, staring at the box responsible for his possession by the Source. "How did you get that?" he asked.


	4. Chapter Four

_Cole gasped in horror then stepped back, staring at the box responsible for his possession by the Source. "How did you get that?" he asked._

"Could you believe how long this had gone without being used?" The man responded. "It is a travesty that good and evil were able to keep it closed for so long. You wouldn't' believe the work Morpheus had to do to get the Source to finally cave. His ex seer was great help, capturing the Source's essence and placing it in you."

Cole was bitterly silent as the realization hit him.

"Not impressed? Asked the man, "the Thorn of the Hind is also in my possession," he said brandishing the legendary thorn Cole's demonic fraternity had been established to protect.

Cole frightfully looked over the leather armor protecting the man's hands, and then glanced at the hands of the rest of the patrons in the bar. They all bore replicas of the legendary scar, the mark rumored to have been left on the hand of Ares, the Olympian God of War during the Source's legendary battle for the thorn. The thorn was supposed to contain a drop of blood from the last of the Golden Hinds, a method that legend indicated was one of two ways of killing the old Olympian deities. The other method involved the bones of the Titans, which were possessed by the Elders.

Part of the old Source's securing of the underworld involved gaining the thorn during a legendary battle. Supposedly the Source was left unable to ever bare his face again, and the Olympian just large burn on the top of his hand.

It suddenly dawned on him why his powers were not working tonight as great as they were, they didn't add up to those as a god!

"I'm sure you know the circumstances behind the old Source's appearance," the man commented, as he removed his gloves, revealing his hand, which contained exact same scar as the rest of the bar patrons confirming Cole's worst fear.

He nodded, unsure of what to do and looked up towards the ceiling. While he had issues with the Elders, he desperately hoped they were watching right now, witnessing the events that were transpiring. They were the only hope, the Charmed Ones could barely handle the old Source. There was no way they would be able to take on a God!

He did the only thing he could, and shimmered out of the bar as quickly as possible.


	5. Chapter Five

He shimmered into the Halliwell manor.

"What are you doing here?" asked a startled Phoebe, unhappy to see her ex husband.

"There is something I desperately need to warn you about," Cole blurted out, hoping he wasn't being followed.

"My date is showing up in two minutes, can't you learn to knock," she responded.

"Who is he?" asked Cole

"A friend of the bartender at P3," answered Paige, her voice tinged with annoyance. "Very nice guy, owns his own business selling soap to all the pricy stores in the city. However since he is with Phoebe, he has been giving us a free supply. That reminds me, when he comes I should ask for more."

"The stuff is amazing" said Phoebe, "my skin has never been the same."

Not wasting any time, Cole interrupted her, "The Olym," was all he was able to get out before something stopped him. He didn't know what it was, but it overpowered him. He gagged as he pulled on his own collar, dragging himself backwards before crashing into a china cabinet.

"What is going on," asked Piper who entered the room.

"Phoebe has a date and Cole is beating himself up over it," answered Paige.

Before he could regain his composure and say anything he felt his hand clench up in a tight fist that flew into his own mouth. He had a very bad feeling about the mysterious force that was causing him to abuse himself. He attempted to say something again, but found that he was unable to speak with his front teeth knocked out. It would be a few minutes before his self-healing kicked in allowing him to say anything. As he was struggling, he heard the chime of the doorbell ringing, Phoebe ran to answer it.

"Tyler," she greeted the man at the door.

Cole looked on in horror as Phoebe wrapped her hands around Olympian he had encountered before. He thought that after their entire experience, she would be suspicious of anyone she dated. He wondered what Leo's reaction would be when he saw who Phoebe was now dating? Did the elders have any she was dating, Ares, the god of war?

"I come bearing gifts," he told her as he took something out of a box, tantalizingly rubbing it against her nose

"Eclairs," responded Phoebe after taking a bite of the crème filled pastry. "Where did you get these? They are awesome," she said as she took the box from him.

"Local donut shop," he responded, "friend runs it, secret is in the frying oil."

Paige and Piper rushed to the door

"Ooh" responded Piper as she grabbed the box man had been holding, and handed the one containing soap to Paige. Pregnant women and donuts were a deadly combination.

"So what are we doing tonight?" Phoebe asked. "Last night was amazing, I never thought I could enjoy a kick boxing match so much."

He smirked, "tonight we paintball," he responded, placing his arm around shoulders and leading her away from her sisters towards his red convertible parked out front.

As soon as the door shut, Cole's mouth had healed allowing him to speak once again. He felt like mentioning something to the sisters but figured it would be pointless. After what happened last year they probably wouldn't believe him. He promptly shimmered out, and decided to follow Phoebe at the paintball place where the Olympian would most likely take her.


	6. Chapter Six

Cole stood in at the field, blending into background as an evergreen bush. He kept a close eye on Phoebe, who was dressed military camouflage, and brandishing what looked like a machine gun but instead of ammunition, simply contained pellets of paint. She playfully looked around for her companion, who was nowhere to be seen.

As he was watching Phoebe he felt something sneak up on him causing him to involuntarily change shape, from a piece shrubbery back into his human form. He looked around making sure no one would see anything, and then shimmered back to the relative safety of his penthouse.

However upon entering, he quickly discovered that he had been followed. Ares was already lying on the sofa, awaiting his arrival.

"Nice try," he responded as he rose from the sofa.

A white energy ball immediately formed in Cole's hand, he threw it at the god, hoping that it would have some kind of effect. However to his chagrin the god simply caught it in his hand, tossed it up and down as if it were a tennis ball, and then threw it back at Cole, hitting him directly in the stomach.

The hit caused Cole to drop to the floor in pain, he looked back and a sword had materialized in the god's hand. He reached for the nearest shelf, hoping to find something he could turn into a defense weapon. He weakly told his accouter, "the Elders are going to find out about this. They'll vanquish you the moment they see you."

"Will they?" answered the god, "right now they seem rather preoccupied with the Charmed Ones, and the child the oldest one is carrying. It is said be the most powerful magical being ever," he laughed. "They still haven't figured out the details behind your becoming possessed by the Source, for the matter neither have the sisters. Think anyone will bat an eyelid if you suddenly become, evil? Acquire a few new powers?" Ares paused, and then assumed a new shape, that of Cole.

Cole looked on in shock, regretting that he had not pieced things together beforehand, it was a set up all along. How could he not have realized this? He wondered what else Ares and his cohorts were responsible for? There was probably a lot more to Piper falling for Leo then the elders knew.

Ares then morphed back into his own form. Cole waved his fingers and attempted to incinerate the god, however his attempt was futile. The god swiftly struck him with energy bolt, causing him to fall to the floor once again. Before he could get up, he felt a piercing sensation, followed by the sound of cracking vertebra, as the sword was thrust through the back neck. It rendered him paralyzed, unable to utter a sound or breathe. He winced in pain as the blade made it to his throat, and his jugular vein. He immediately felt blood rushing out, and desperately waited for his self-healing to kick in. However just as it began to work, he felt the blade cut the vein again, and more blood rushing out, in addition to a burning sensation caused by the acid in his blood reacting with his skin. Then the dizziness then set in, shortly afterwards, everything faded to black.


	7. Chapter Seven

Ares looked around the posh apartment, intricately decorated in expensive furniture, high tech electronic crap from the Sharper Image, and utterly useless art no mortal, yet alone demon needed. He hated to admit it but the old Source had chosen a prime location for the base of his operations, a penthouse atop a hill in San Francisco. The things he could do with this place once he was done using Belthazor. It was perfect to sell to some new operatives, then later blow up it up attempt to turn them against the current consumer based, vanity-worshipping society.

He heard a tune coming from somewhere, Cole's pocket. He quickly pulled his sword out of the now unconscious demons' neck and waved his fingers answering the phone with a sinister a sinister hello, using Cole's voice.

"What did you do to him?" Phoebe asked, in an accusatory tone.

There was something very appealing about that particular Charmed One. He always thought Prue would make the best companion, but after last night's date with Phoebe, he had begun to reconsider things. She certainly had good warrior instincts, _along with some other skills he liked in his women. _

"Phoebe, you know I'm the only man for you," he responded. Phoebe promptly hung up.

What was he not the least bit that the Charmed one didn't suspect anything? This was going to be good, even better than the time he talked Hercules out of his powers, by setting him up with the last of the golden hinds.

He seriously doubted that anyone would be able to tell the difference between demonic powers and olympian powers. The elders would assume that Cole had just given into his true nature.

The relationship between the now eldest Charmed one and the Whitelighter was a perfect diversion; they were not likely to notice anything. His first order of business was to take oldest Elder, the one who had proposed searching the Elysian fields for the spirit of Xena. Afterwards taking out the rest of them would be easy, perhaps he might even have another chance to bring back his grandparents, the Titans.

As for the Avatars, another group of omnipotent beings, he had word that they would be coming around shortly to assimilate Belthazor, there was no better way to infiltrate them than tricking them into accepting someone they think is someone else. After their power structure was compromised, they could be easily brought down.

Now what to do with Belthazor? He had heard interesting things about the guy from whom his club's branch in Miami had been collecting soap making supplies. A loser plastic surgeon, who had fascinating alter ego, an alter ego in need of personification? Perhaps it was time to track this guy down, and see what could be done. A constant supplier would be very useful; there was nothing better for making soap with than the pure fat of humans.

But before doing that, he needed to speak to Barbus about stealing powers that weren't his own.

_The End: This is my version of what happened to Cole on Charmed, sorry to those whom are bothered by the ending..._


End file.
